Hans J. Wegner Danish 1940s Leather And Oak Model A721 Executive Chair

An exceedingly rare Hans J. Wegner Model A721 cognac leather and Oak early Danish Mid-century executive chair for Planmøbel, Denmark 1940.

Originally designed by Wegner following his work for Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller’s ground breaking Rådhus (Aarhus City Hall) project in 1940, the A721, stands out as one of his earliest known chair designs. Along with a number of other chairs like the B123, the Rådhus chairs were handcrafted by Michael Laursen, I.C.A Nielsen and Planmøbel specifically for the project. Originally made in small numbers all the chairs were of uniform construction with solid oak frames matched to leather upholstery and with thick, solid jointing work that complemented the angular forms. Here we also see for the first time, Wegner’s use of the flared arm rest that were a signature design element for every armchair produced for the Rådhus. These flares were either carved into the wood (as in the Council chamber chairs) or added as leather upholstered caps to the top of the arm rests for the office chairs, the B123 and the lounge chairs – and we can see all those details carried through here to the A721.

Many of the chairs, along with the other pieces designed by Wegner for the Rådhus, and a handful he designed at the same time, went into full production with Planmøbel and the A721 was featured in their early catalogues. In most cases there was an option offered on the upholstery finishes that included fabric and leather and also an option of the colour of the Oak finish from original light Oak to a darker, richer stain that looked more like Mahogany. All the furniture pieces commissioned by Planmøbel had elements redesigned by Wegner for production. This can be seen in the later models of the A721 where the base and metal rise and tilt function were made much heavier than the original - but there’s a lot to be said for how elegant, and also how hands on and eminently practical the original mechanism was: just a simple angled lever for the height adjustment and a thick heavy spring that counterbalanced the tilt.

The tilt function allows the chair to tilt forwards and downwards (5cm range of movement) as well as backwards (8cm range of movement), and the seat height is adjustable within a 10cm range from 46 – 56cm.

This chair is presented in very good vintage condition with wear to the tops of the stained Oak arms and the arm rests commensurate with its 80 years of life. The leather upholstery features the piped edge seat and back along with the leather arm rests and an iron tacked hessian base. Given the condition of the leather on the seat and back it is possible that it may have been reupholstered at some point in its life, but if this is the case it's clear it was sympathetically restored with a great deal of care and attention to detail.

Dimensions
H90 x W62 X D60cm
Seat height: Adjustable from 46 – 56cm
Arm height: Based on seat height adjustment + 10cm from 70 – 80cm
Tilt: Forwards/downwards 5cm range of movement: Backwards; 8cm range of movement.
Swivel: full 360°

Hans j. Wegner (April 2, 1914 - January 26, 2007)
Universally recognised and referred to as the ‘Master of the Chair’, Hans Jørgensen Wegner was one of the most prolific designers of the 20th Century and one of the key exponents of Mid Century Modern design. Although a functionalist his dogma never constrained his creative genius and his designs were often both radical in conception and beautiful in form. Whilst being a true craftsmen, who preferred to work in wood, he nonetheless recognised that design must always work in harmony with new materials and production techniques. Thus, the ‘perfect’ chair was nothing more than an abstract notion that was constantly evolving; “If only you could design just one good chair in your life...but you simply cannot.” Was a mantra he lived by and his commitment to his craft left us a legacy of 3,500 drawings and a production catalogue of over 500 chairs – and it is a testament to his genius that a number of his key designs are still produced even to this day.

Born in 1914 to a shoemaker in Tønder, Southern Denmark, by the time he was 14 he had started working as a child apprentice for master cabinetmaker H. F. Stahlberg – and one year later he had designed and crafted his first chair. He studied as a cabinetmaker and architect and by 1943 had established his own design practice in Gentofte. It was however, his seminal work with Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller at the Rådhus that set him on the path to greatness. He designed all the furniture for the building and worked closely with both the designers and the artisans who handcrafted his designs. Many of his designs later went into production with Planmøbel and after that point his future was assured. Collaborations with Johannes Hansen and Børge Mogensen led to his own designs being produced by (amongst many others) FDB, Carl Hansen & Søn, PP Møbler, Getama and Fritz Hansen.

The core of Wegner’s legacy was his focus on showing the heart of a piece of furniture through a simple and functional exterior; which, in turn, was also based on a deep respect for the wood he used and its fundamental characteristics. His background as a cabinetmaker gave him a thorough understanding of how to integrate precise and exacting joinery techniques and this enabled him to bring a natural softness to formalistic minimalism. His most famous designs, the ‘Y’, or Wishbone chair, and the Round Chair (also known as The Kennedy Chair) exemplified these ideals and they came at a time from the mid 40’s to the mid 50’s where he literally designed and created chairs with an ease akin to how people would breath. He flowed from one design to another and as such his work played a vital role in making Danish Modernism popular on an international scale and helped to create what is referred to today as the ‘the Golden Age’ of Danish design.

Condition report:

Very good vintage condition